If you have any questions related to ending your tenancy and you cannot find the information on this site, please contact us by email to customerservicecentre@hounslowhomes.org.uk or by calling the Customer Service Centre on 0800 085 65 75. You can also visit your local housing office.
Please note that this page is for information only and your individual circumstances may need to be taken into account by your Estate Manager before a decision is made.
I want to give up my property. How much notice do I need to give?
Would I be charged for 4 weeks if I can only give one week notice?
I want to give my up property – what do I need to do?
How do I receive £100 for giving four week's notice?
My partner has left the property. What will happen to our joint tenancy?
My wife has died and we were joint tenants. Can I still live in the property?
How do you deal with properties when the tenant has just died?
What can be done about a property that's been empty for a long time?
My parents who were both joint tenants have died. Can I get the tenancy in my name?
My mother has died and was the sole tenant. Can I get the tenancy in my name?
I want to give up my property. How much notice do I need to give?
You are required to give a full four weeks notice period. Contact the Customer Service Centre to request a Termination of Tenancy form.
Will I be charged for 4 weeks if I can only give one week's notice?
Yes, unless there are exceptional circumstances such as transfer or the death of a tenant, when we may be able to accept one week’s notice. In all other cases the full four weeks notice period is required. You should notify the Customer Service Centre immediately if there are exceptional circumstances.
I want to give my up property – what do I need to do?
Contact the Customer Service Centre immediately and complete a Termination of Tenancy Form providing your forwarding address and any other relevant details. You must ensure that rent is paid up-to-date when the tenancy ends and that the property is left clear of any rubbish or damages as these may be recharged to you and you will be invoiced for them. The Customer Service Centre will give you a date that the keys to the property must be handed in by. This date is always a Monday
At the end of the notice period you must hand in your keys at your local Housing Office, before 12 noon on a Monday. If the keys are returned after this time you will be charged a further weeks rent.
How do I receive £100 for giving four week's notice?
You may be eligible for a £100 bonus if you give four week’s notice of giving up your tenancy. Certain terms and conditions apply, please contact the Customer Service Centre to find out more.
My partner has left the property. What will happen to our joint tenancy?
Notify the Customer Service Centre immediately. If you are joint tenants and one of you terminates the tenancy, the whole tenancy comes to an end. Depending on the circumstances of the termination the remaining tenant may be allowed to stay in the property and be given a new tenancy. If, for example, the tenancy is terminated due to domestic violence, then Hounslow Homes will apply to the courts for possession of the property and the remaining partner may be evicted.
Decisions are made on an individual basis and are dependant on your circumstances and the above is for information only. Please contact the Customer Service Centre and ask to speak to your Estate Manager or visit your local housing office to discuss your tenancy.
My wife has died and we were joint tenants. Can I still live in the property?
Yes. We will need a copy of the death certificate and you will have to fill in a Transfer of Tenancy form to bring our records up-to-date. Contact the Customer Service Centre to request a form.
How do you deal with properties when the tenant has just died?
The Estate Manager will check to see if anyone is entitled to succeed to the tenancy as defined in the Housing Act 1985: “A person is qualified to succeed the tenant under a secure tenancy if they occupy the dwelling house as their only or principal home at the time of the tenants death and either –
a)they are the tenant’s spouse, or
b)they are another member of the tenant’s family and have resided with the tenant throughout the period of twelve months ending with the tenant’s death;Unless in either case the tenant was a successor”
Please contact the Customer Service Centre for more information
If there is no succession and the next of kin has not come forward, a Notice to Quit will be served on the Executors/Administrators of the deceased estate. Once an agreement is reached with the Executor, the tenancy can be terminated.
I have noticed a property has been empty for a considerable length of time. What can be done?
Hounslow Homes will try to establish if the property has been abandoned. A Notice to Quit will be served on the property and legal proceedings will be taken to recover possession. A small number of properties are empty for repair before the next tenant moves in. If you think a property has been abandoned, please inform the Customer Service Centre.
My parents, who were both joint tenants, have died. Can I get the tenancy in my name?
Normally, there is only one succession allowed per household. For example, your mother succeeded to the tenancy upon your father’s death and consequently she died. You will not then be entitled to succeed to the tenancy as one succession has already taken place.
However, there are very limited exceptional circumstances. In all cases, you must contact the Customer Service Centre, who will be able to advise you what you need to do next and refer you to your Estate Manager.
My mother has died and was the sole tenant. Can I get the tenancy in my name?
Providing you meet the criteria for succession as defined in the Housing Act 1985:
“A person is qualified to succeed the tenant under a secure tenancy if they occupy the dwelling house as their only or principal home at the time of the tenants death and either –
c). they are the tenant’s spouse, or
d). they are another member of the tenant’s family and have resided with the tenant throughout the period of twelve months ending with the tenant’s death;Unless in either case the tenant was a successor”
You may be entitled to succeed to the tenancy. However, if the property is too large for your needs, you will be required to transfer to a smaller accommodation.
Please contact the Customer Service Centre and request a succession form. We must serve you with a Notice of Seeking Possession between 6 and 12 months after the death of your mother on the grounds that the property is too big for your needs. An alternative suitable offer will be made to you.
If you refuse to move then Court proceedings can commence against the property you occupy.
